


Going as Planned

by stardropdream (orphan_account)



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-12-03 10:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/697492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/stardropdream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The book says to be confident, so she is: "I like you!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going as Planned

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on LJ October 27, 2012.

  
Rule number seventeen of _How to Seduce a Single Father_ was ‘be confident!’.   
  
So, here she is. She clears her throat, straightens her shoulders, and says, loudly, confidently: “I like you!”  
  
Kotetsu freezes up and blinks at her, as if the entire world has just come to a standstill and, well, maybe it has a little bit.   
  
“Huh?”  
  
She feels her face heating up, but she doesn’t back down. It’s too late now. Or, well, maybe it isn’t exactly _too_ late, she can still back out now and nobody will be the wiser. But she will be. And she can’t back down – she has to be brave.  
  
“I like you.”  
  
Kotetsu blinks again and then smiles, reaching up to pat the top of her head. “Well, I like you, too!”  
  
She bristles up and shoves his arm away. Still time to back out now. Still time to pretend this is what she meant. She doesn’t have to say it today. She doesn’t have to say it at all. This is her out. This is how she can preserve some dignity.  
  
She has to say it, though.  
  
“NO, you don’t understand. I _like_ you.”  
  
She stresses the word and stares at him, willing him to understand. And, after a moment, it seems it does sink in because his eyes widen and then his cheeks turn pink. And it’s utterly adorable.  
  
“… Huh?”  
  
“I’m not saying it a third time!” she cries out feeling only a tad bit hysterical. The aforementioned confidence and cool is quickly dissolving. What confidence and coolness could there possibly be to this situation? Easy answer: there isn’t and never could be, not when it comes to her. Not when it comes to him.   
  
“Sorry, sorry,” he apologizes, still looking a bit shell-shocked. “Um.”  
  
“Shut up!” she snaps, impossibly embarrassed. “I should go…”  
  
“Wait,” he says, grabbing her wrist. Her first reaction is to shove him back and run like hell, but she resists the urge, instead just freezing up completely. She could freeze _him_ , then he wouldn’t be able to chase her while she ran like hell. She considers this.  
  
She doesn’t, though. Frankly, she’s too embarrassed to do much of anything.  
  
“Why?” Kotetsu asks, still looking unsure. “Why me?”  
  
“H- how the heck should I know?” she cries out, feeling more than a little bit hysterical now. _Really_ hysterical – beyond embarrassed, mortified, rejected. She’s doing her best to keep her voice from becoming unbearably shrill. “It’s not like I _chose_ this!”   
  
He laughs, a little uneasy. “I guess not…”  
  
“Also, what the hell kind of question is that!” she practically shrieks, feeling herself completely Freaking Out. This is not going as planned but, truthfully, she didn’t know what to expect. She was crazy to confess – especially just out of the blue like this. “Oh god,” she says, feeling faint. “Oh god, oh _god!_ ”  
  
“Wait,” he says, once it looks like she’s about to run the hell away – or wait for the earth to open up and swallow her whole. “Wait… um, it’s okay.”  
  
“What?” she squeaks out, not looking at him and her face bright red.  
  
“It’s surprising, don’t get me wrong,” he says, slowly, measuring his words very carefully as he looks at her – his face completely red. “But… um. Ha ha. I’m really surprised!”  
  
“You just said that. God!”   
  
“But, well, I am quite a bit older than you and, well, you always seem fed up with me and…”  
  
“Just shut up!”  
  
“Like now…” Kotetsu mumbles, trailing off and laughing nervously.  
  
“It’s like I said! I didn’t choose it, it just happened, okay? And stop with the self-deprecation! It’s annoying.” She stomps her foot down for good measure.  
  
He laughs again. “Sorry, sorry…”  
  
She huffs and looks away, not quite sulking. This did not go as expected at all. But she, well, should have expected that. Its’ too late now, though. She’ll just have to go for it.  
  
She puts her hands on her hips and straightens her shoulders, looking down at him over the tip of her nose.  
  
“The self-deprecation needs to stop, you know.” She turns her face away with a soft ‘hmph’. Be confident, the books says. She inhales. The hands on her hips hide how badly her hands are shaking perfectly, she thinks. “So give me your response already. I said I like you but you’ve just talking about yourself and how I have bad taste.”  
  
“Oh,” he says, sounding rather stupid, but more likely surprised by the whole situation.  
  
“I didn’t say this for you to… give me a pity date or anything like that. Not like I thought you would! So. So just man up about it!”  
  
He’s quiet for a moment, but she doesn’t shout at him because his expression is very serious. Thoughtful. Absorbed. Waiting sucks. She’s doing everything in her power not to fidget. She swallows, feeling herself start to sweat. For all her bold talk, she knows she won’t be able to handle his rejection.  
  
Kotetsu scratches at his cheek and says, slowly, “I’m not sure how it’d be able to work, but… it’s not a bad thing. To like somebody.”  
  
She blinks her eyes wide, still as she waits for the rejection. At least he’s being nice about it all. Maybe that’s worse, though. She doesn’t know yet. She’s never exactly been in this situation, anyway.   
  
“I’m glad. That you do, I mean.” He clears his throat. “It makes me happy to know a cute girl like you likes me enough for that.”   
  
She gives him a shocked look. He just smiles back.  
  
She has no idea if that’s a rejection or not. And she’s too frazzled to ask for clarification. So, blushing, she just nods her head.  
  
“Well – good! Not like I need your permission, though!”  
  
And before he can answer, she’s rushing out the door, smiling to herself. Happy, despite everything. Or maybe the smile is self-protection to keep her from Freaking Out more.


End file.
